“In the beginning, I didn’t look at Conor McGregor as a boxer, this guy has never been 12 rounds and he’s in there with a professor of boxing,” the Briton said.

“Floyd took him to school, he made him punch himself out and when he was tired he took him out. It’s textbook boxing.

“It shows that boxing is a superior sport. In the ring, you can’t beat a boxer, it’s not as easy as everybody thought it would be, just because McGregor is a fighter. This is fighting where you can only use your hands.”

Despite Lewis’ criticisms, the money the fight attracted means another boxing outing for McGregor seems inevitable, possibly against Paulie Malignaggi who has denied claims he was put down by the Irishman in sparring.

Lewis, though, hopes McGregor’s ring appearance will never be repeated.

“I didn’t see the point of the whole thing,” he added.

“A lot of people found it exciting, could Conor McGregor beat Floyd? It wasn’t the case. It was a case of a textbook style brought to school, Conor McGregor got brought to school. He got schooled.”

Asked if he had a message for McGregor, Lewis said: “Stay in your lane. Boxing is superior.”

Carl Froch admitted he was on the edge of his seat but also believes Mayweather “outclassed” McGregor.

Four-time world super-middleweight champion Froch praised the UFC star’s resilience but the 40-year-old was not surprised by the result.

Froch, speaking on Sky Sports Box Office, said: “He (McGregor) did well from the fact that he’s a mixed martial artist. If that was a boxer, you’d say it was an ‘outclassed’ job, a mismatch.

“In reality, he (Mayweather) was in there with a UFC fighter. Conor came, he was proud, he tried, he didn’t go over.

“It was a great event, promotion, a good show, we’ve all been on the edge of our seats. But what happened is what we thought would happen.”

Boxing promoter Frank Warren was critical of the quality of the fight and he believes the Irishman was “totally out of his league” to stand in the ring with one of the greatest boxers of all-time.

“I’ve never seen him fight as a boxer but having watched that, he can’t box. He’s brave, he’s got a big heart but he’s not a boxer and like Lennox (Lewis) did say, he (Mayweather) took him to school,” Warren said.

“He was just out of his depth. He won the first three rounds but Floyd barely threw a punch, he’d been out of the ring for two years, (and) 40 years of age. And by the way, I didn’t think Floyd looked so good at times in the fight.

“But he (Mayweather) knew that he could walk through this guy, he knew after five rounds that McGregor had never been five rounds and that he could just wear him down.

“I’m confident that British (welterweight) champion Bradley Skeete could beat him. He’s not a boxer. It just showed that he was totally out of his league.

“It was what it was, two cultures – UFC and boxing – those two cultures clash and the bottom line was that Conor McGregor should stick to UFC, that’s the fact of life.

“It brought the whole world’s attention to boxing and it seems people are pleased with what they have seen. The two guys have made a lot of money and good luck to them. And Conor McGregor has more money than probably most British boxers combined in their whole careers.”

UFC fighter Danny Roberts does not believe there will now be a flood of mixed martial artists heading for the ring.

Asked whether this sets a precedent for UFC fighters to take on boxers in the future, he said: “I can understand it, but at the same time I feel this is a one-off, the best of the best from two combat sports.

“As much as people want to talk about it from the outside, I don’t necessarily think it is going to happen again, it was a spectacle.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI

The retired American sparred with McGregor but things quickly turned sour as he left the camp amid denied claims he had been knocked down. Malignaggi retired this year after time caught up with him, but could he face McGregor on St Patrick’s Day in New York, as has been mooted?

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

Surely not? Mayweather said he was retired “for sure” after beating McGregor but, Mayweather also loves money. This fight has reportedly earned him $100million – would he be able to resist 200 million? His perfect 50-0 record should keep him out of the gym.

AMIR KHAN

Ahead of the fight, Khan said “boxing will be over” if McGregor won. He also said, in the event of a McGregor victory, “I’d even go to Ireland and fight him there”. McGregor lost, but will Khan still fancy it?

KELL BROOK

Brook, like Khan, has wanted the biggest names in the welterweight division. Like Khan, he never faced Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. He stepped up to face Gennady Golovkin at middleweight and lost, bravely, before doing so to Errol Spence back at welter. He is at a career crossroads, but would he fancy McGregor?

LIAM SMITH

One of the four Smith brothers, all professionals, Liam Smith was the WBO light-middleweight champion in 2015 and 2016. He will have a rematch with fellow Brit Liam Williams in Newcastle in October, having beaten him earlier in the year when Williams – ahead of the cards – suffered an eye injury. If he loses the rematch, could he look at Conor?

Provided by Press Association Sport

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Mayweather said in his post-fight interview in the ring: “He is a tough competitor and I thought we gave the fans what they wanted to see.

“He is a lot better than I thought he was, he used different angles and was a tough competitor but I was the better man tonight.

“Our game-plan was to take our time, let him shoot all his heavy shots early on and then take him down at the end, down the stretch.

“We know in the MMA he fights 25 minutes real hard and after that he starts to slow down.

“I guaranteed this fight wouldn’t go the distance. A win is a win.”

Mayweather lands a straight right

Mayweather’s victory takes his record to an unprecedented 50-0 and the 40-year-old insists this was his last outing in the ring: “This was my last fight tonight, my last fight, for sure. I chose the right dance partner to dance with.”

McGregor will walk away with his reputation intact after putting up an accomplished showing in his first professional bout.

The 29-year-old believes the referee Robert Byrd called time on the fight too early.

“I took the early rounds fairly handy,” he said. “I thought it was close, I thought the stoppage was a bit early, there was a lot on the line and I thought he should have let me carry on.